Ryume and Hikuro and the Unknown Suspect
by Ryume Kazemizu
Summary: Ryume and Hikuro were average high school students, well... not That much average. More of supernatural average who hunted down more supernaturals like cops/detectives. Never letting anyone else in their lives, will that change with a new student?
1. The Case and Intros

It had really all started last night at exactly midnight.

There was a report about a robbery in an old, unknown museum, and the cops and detectives were having a tough time figuring out what had happened. The museum was closed at the time of the robbery but the manager had found out about the missing artifact after his morning employee opened up the museum and took a walk-through of another sloppy scan of the building. The sloppy scan paid off though when the employee saw the boxed glass on the floor and the royal blue cushion empty.

So they were all making a big deal to the cops about this stolen lump of rock on a piece of string. Great.

Unfortunately, that's where I came in: Ryume Kazemizu, age 16 (going onto 17), tall, long brown hair, green eyes, and some good solid fighting moves. Already done all the Tae Kwon Do classes, Karate classes, go to the shooting range every while, and yes, walk (or run) with my dog every morning. Just your average high school girl with lots of friends. Pshh. Right.

"So when will you be able to come down here, Mizu?" I hate it when they use half my last name. They think it just sounds so formal.

"I'm not sure, Detective Brown," I replied through the phone. "I kind of have school today and I think I've had enough tardies for the year." It was true. Everyone at the office knew the drill. I was usually late and had an acceptable excuse: I had to go get some bad guys… Or I had just slept in from catching bad guys late at night. Not _that_ bad of an excuse, right?

"These morons are so worried about their precious necklace. We can't snap them out of it. They want it found as soon as possible."

I mentally rolled my eyes. "It's not going to work, Detective. I can't afford to miss anymore classes." Nor can I keep missing my chance to give a gift to a special someone. It was almost Christmas and I still needed to hand out gifts. I looked behind me and into my living room. All of my couches' were filled with pretty rainbow boxes of all sizes and cute blue and black flower ribbons on all of them. I liked blue and black.

"Listen, kid, I still have to go Christmas shopping for all my employees. Do you not know how annoying that is? You don't. So get your ass down here." He snapped at me. He snapped at me!

I gaped at the phone and felt like tossing it across the phone. _Excuse me?! _At that moment I felt like saying 'I have a life too, ya know!?' and hang up. But I didn't. Because that would've been immature. I try to be better than my older workers and bosses. It just didn't work to act my immature age in front of them, especially being the youngest in the company.

Instead, I said sternly, "I'm not missing class. Now I must go or I'll be late."

I heard him sigh long and hard against the phone and could picture him shaking his head at me. Or himself, not sure. But he finally gave up and said to be at the museum after my 'kiddy-time'. That got him some real eye rolls.

Gathering as much presents as I can, I put them in a cardboard box and had more in a Walmart plastic bag. I slung my one-strap back bag over my head and put everything in my yellow convertible 2004 Mustang GT. Looking at my watch and reading 7:10 am, I was nice and almost early.

Taking out the box, plastic bag, and my own back bag, I went into the school and turned left into the office. Everyone's heads went up to look at me and I smiled at everyone, giving them a warm 'Hello'. They all smiled back or waved or replied back at me, each one of them as happy as can be. I put my over-sized and over-filled plastic bag on the counter. "Alright ladies, here're some Christmas presents for you. Enjoy!" I walked out before they could come around and hug me with a flurry of cheek grabbing, extreme hugs, shaking hands, and long conversations that never ended until the bell rang.

Since I was early, I walked towards the cafeteria and gave out more small gifts to friends, the whole time searching for that special someone. Yes, as a high school girl, I _did_ have a major crush on someone. And that special someone happened to be my best friend.

He came out from behind me and grabbed my waist, hugging me against him. Hikuro Atsukai. My age, messy dark brown hair, and amazing brown and golden-ringed eyes that were usually hidden behind his long hair. But it wasn't the long hair like girls. Just messy long for a guy. He was too tall and too strong for his age, but was by far the most fun ad exciting person to be with. He really knew how to make someone laugh and any girl smile.

I laughed as he grabbed me and hugged me tight against him. Burying his face in my hair, he said a "Good morning' to me and let me go. I smiled up at his grinning face that showed his big canine teeth and wanted to just pat him on the head. I've never told anyone, but I think he's adorable, hot, and just irresistible.

"What's with the huge box?" He asked, still smiling.

I looked down at the box still half full of gifts, "Just presents for some friends."

He put his hand to his chest and opened his mouth, gaping, and his eyes going wide, "And what about _moi?_"

I laughed and ruffled his hair like a cute puppy. "I have a special one for you, mister," I reached into my back and brought out a small box with a sparkling black and blue ribbon and red and black wrapping paper. His favorite colors and mine.

All he did was look at me and raise his eyebrows. Then he pointed at a random box in the box. "Why's that one bigger than mine? Did someone else win you over me? Who's ass do I need to kick?" With every sentence brought him closer to my face and I ended up laughing.

"That's because size doesn't matter on the gift, but of what you're given. Yours is more special." I smiled up at him.

He smiled down at me, still a little too close, and took the gift, putting it back in the box of other gifts. I look at him questioningly. All he did was give me a seductive smile and grab my hands, bringing our faces closer to each other. "All I need is you, my Cupcake Ryume." He whispered and kissed me on my forehead. I felt my face go hot and knew I was blushing. I always blushed so easily, especially around him.

Hikuro grinned my favorite grin with the canines at me and took back the box, one hand still holding my own. And with that we went to homeroom class of Chemistry.

The first thing I saw when I entered the classroom was a pile on my desk. A pile of colorful boxes with ribbons and smiley faces and even some hearts. I felt Hikuro laugh behind me and I grabbed a random box in the pile. On it, it said "It may not be Valentine's Day, but please be mine for Christmas."

I felt my jaw drop and hid the note from Hikuro. But he had already noticed and took it from me. His face showed disgust, "Tsch. Loser."

I glared at him and shook my head. I read more ridiculous notes and love letters and came to the bottom of the pile with my friends' gifts. I smiled at some humorous letters and designs on the wrapping paper. I stuffed everything in the box and moved the rest of the gifts that needed to be given out, in a spare plastic bag.

I looked at Hikuro who was examining, or admiring, my gift to him. He was smiling but his face showed sadness. "Hikuro?" I called.

He looked up at me, the sad smile still in place. "This totally sucks. You probably gave me something amazing and I have no idea what to get you." He smiled again and shook his head at himself. "Some best friend I am."

"You don't have to get me anything, Hikuro. Just be there with me for Christmas Eve and Day. That's all I ask." It was true. We had both agreed to be together at my house for a day since we had no close relatives or family members. Hikuro's mother left him when he was very young and his dad's a drunken bastard. Hikuro deserved better than that. As for me, my parents had died years ago and I was taken in by an outcast of the family. I don't call him dad but he's more than a dad to me.

"You deserve more than that, Ryume. You're my life. I can't just give you anything." He put his hands on my shoulders and put his forehead against mine.

"You give me happiness, Hikuro." I said quietly.

"That's not enough for a person like you." He said just as quietly.

Then the bell rang. Hikuro smiled at me and kissed me on the forehead again before heading over to his seat in the back of the class. I smiled at absolutely nothing and felt like an idiot.

--

The day went by very smoothly. And after getting more love letters, gifts, notes, and random hugs, I was actually ready to go home. I was outside in front of the school, in the freezing cold, waiting for Hikuro, with a box and another plastic bag full of letters and gifts. I knew too many people. Standing out in the freezing wind with my blue jeans, blue and black DC shoes, black shirt, a stud belt with random key chains, and a thick black jacket, I was ready to go. Hikuro finally came out through the doors, laughing with some friends. He noticed me and did the whole ridiculous hand shake thing that guys do, and hurried towards me. Running towards me, he picked me up and held me in a bear hug. I was instantly warm all over. He was really good at that.

"Ready to go, Cupcake?" He grinned, setting me down.

I blushed and mumbled; looking away, "Stop calling me that." He laughed and messed with my hair. "How can you take the bike in this weather? It's freaking freezing!"

"You get a special jacket and the right helmet, hun." He said and dragged me towards my car and his motorcycle. I was totally against bikes. Too dangerous. But Hikuro loved bikes so I didn't say anything. He knows, but loves it so much he just stays quiet about it around me. He knows the drill. "It's not so warm in a convertible Mustang either, sweetie."

Again with the blush. Dammit. To hide it, I went in my car and turned the car on, putting the heat on. "There," I said, "Warm it up before I drive so my fingers aren't frozen."

He smiled and held my hands, bringing them to his face. He kissed my hands and snuggled my knuckles. "I'd help keep you warm but I don't have anyone to pick up my bike."

I did a short laugh, kissed him goodbye, and said I'd see him later, before getting into my car and driving off. His lips were soft and innocent, unlike his personality. It felt so good to be in his arms; it felt as if being in his arms made me immune to anything else outside the protection of them.

Oh yeah, we were in love with each other.


	2. What A Pain'

It was around 4:30 when I arrived at the museum. Kinda late… So I stopped by Taco Bell, so what? I was damn hungry. Arriving to the scene with a crunch wrap supreme in my hand and a soda in the other, I was ready to get this job done and over with. I didn't have any unfinished homework but I wanted to go decorate my house.

"You're late, Kazemizu." The Detective greeted me.

"Gee, it's good to see you too, Thomas." I smiled sweetly at him, but making sure the smile didn't quite reach my eyes.

Detective Thomas Brown was a reasonably tall brown-haired man and always liked to wear a brown hat with his various sweaters he always wore to hide his bald spot on his head. He didn't like to be called old; just more experienced and a man that's seen a lot. I didn't believe him. I've seen much more than he has, but I don't share with anyone except Hikuro because we're in the same field of work.

At first I was just a volunteer for a 'mystery' the team couldn't solve. Thomas Brown let me try solving it and I got it. He liked the way I worked and asked if I wanted to join his team. I agreed. Since then I've started working with them.

But the thing was… The only reason why Brown had hired me was because of my skills. For lack of a better word, I had 'supernatural powers'. People call me a hero, the devil, a goddess, but the most famous one was a ninja. I liked that one the best and decided to encourage it by wearing often lots of black when I'm doing my work. And by doing my work, I meant chasing down other bad guys that had similar 'powers' as I did. I've come across too many things in my life from shape shifters (or lycans), people who can disguise themselves as other people, hell, even freaking vampires. The list goes on into ridiculous creatures.

While chasing someone down, they can throw me off a building and I'd land on my feet if I were prepared. If I take a kick to the gut, I cringed then get back up and keep going. I can take more damage than any average mortal can; I'm faster, stronger, smarter.

And the greatest part was that so was Hikuro. He's better with his weapons than I am and has more strength. I take care of the speed and planning and outlines of the mission. He's most of the macho, action kind of guy. All in all we're a great team. Nothing like having a best friend who knows who and what you are and not complain.

Thomas Brown stared at my crunch wrap supreme and frowned. "What the hell is that?"

I took another bite and looked at him. "My dinner. I got hungry. I can't think with an empty stomach."

"You don't need to think for this issue. Just listen and shut these guys up." He snapped at me.

I rolled my eyes, which ticked him off, and walked past him, throwing my garbage in a nearby trashcan. Walking towards the entrance where two men were standing with an officer, I tapped Officer James on the shoulder and smiled at him when he turned around. He was pretty short for a cop, but hey, I'm too young. I motioned for him to go on with his business and he mouthed a 'Thank you' to me. Great. These guys really must be a pain.

The two men that James was talking to were wearing big jackets, gloves, and scarves. They were prepared for the weather… I looked down at my clothes, unlike myself. Good thing I can stand the weather better than other people.

I held my hand out to them and smiled, introducing myself. The tallest one instantly grabbed my hand and shook firmly, going straight to business. "Yes, hello, I'm the manager of this old museum. This morning my employee-," he motioned towards the young man next to him,"-reported to me that a dangerous artifact has been stolen. You _must_ help me find it!"

Sighing, I nodded my head and listened to him ramble for a minute or two. He stated that the name of the jewel on the necklace was called _"Bloody Bones". _Spooky, huh? It was. Knowing my history, I knew instantly what I was dealing with, and it wasn't too good. _Bloody Bones_ was a jewel that was once worn by a person like myself. It fed off the darkness and greed in his heart and then took over his body. The sight wasn't pretty. I was there. I was forced to shoot him in the head, then the heart. That was the only way to kill the darkness in the jewel: Kill the host.

I thought just like any other stolen artifact, I wouldn't see it again. I guess I was wrong. Here it is again, back to haunt me with the picture of the man's headless and heartless body bleeding all over the ground. I remember my guardian (the man who took me in as a father), Kasaigaru, was there. He was the one who put the body away and led me back, trying to bring peace back in my mind.

The manager was still babbling while I was collecting my thoughts. I shook my head, "May I please see the tape from the camera, sir?"

He suddenly stopped talking and nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes, of course. Right this way."

And in we went, into his office. He turned on the cameras and rewound the saved tape. Pressing play at the appropriate time, I watched the black and white pictured room come into view. After a moment or two, a figure suddenly came from the ceiling and landing neatly on its feet next to the glass box with the jewel inside. I help my breath and tried to figure out who the mysterious figure was. It's back was too big, too wide; legs and arms too skinny for such a sized back. I watched it as it circled around the glass, eyes a bright white as if they were glowing. The figure stopped and lifted the glass box from off the pillar and laid it on the ground. And as simple as that, it took the necklace and leaped into the air, not coming back down.

The manager stopped the tape and examined my face. I was too deep in thought and ignored his curious staring. He finally snapped me out of my trace with a "Well?"

I actually didn't know what to say. I couldn't say 'Well you're pretty much screwed.' Or 'Not my fault your security system sucks'. I just wasn't the kind of person to say that.

But I did assure him I'd find the necklace as soon as possible. I really would too. I was eager to see who'd want the necklace, or would even know what it actually does.

I thought about it on my way back home. Driving into my court, I eased up on the gas pedal and saw a bike parked in front of my house. I felt a smile creep on my face and I felt like an idiot again.

--

"So you're saying we gotta find _another_ psycho? Ugh, great." Hikuro groaned and flopped down on my couch.

"Yeah, unfortunately… But who'd know about _Bloody Bones_? It's pretty old. I doubt anyone would know about it." I said with my finger against my lower lip. Something I do when I'm in thought.

Hikuro sat on his elbow and gazed at me, sitting at the end of the couch where his long legs were. "You said this thing had a strange form?"

"Yeah. Too big of a back."

I received a nod from him and we both went into our own thoughts. He was the first to break the silence; "We need to find him before Christmas."

I looked at him and found him smiling big at me. I couldn't help but laugh at his silly grin. "Yeah, I guess so. I guess we should start tonight, huh?"

He nodded once and his hair fell in his face. He looked up at me through his hair and gave me a very seductive look. "That's a shame… I had plans tonight with you."

My face turned very hot and I instantly got up to go change into warmer clothes. He was suddenly in front of me. Speedy. Leaning forward slowly, he pecked me on the lips, and then vanished. I rolled my eyes. Show off. Shrugging, I went upstairs to my mostly black clothed wardrobe and changed into something a little more ninia-like.


	3. New Student

Hikuro and I both agreed to split up, even though he didn't like it. He can be pretty stubborn so I was glad we were agreeing. I took my Mustang and he took his midnight black Crotch Rocket. He went towards the woods, and I went into town. I searched every store and scanned every crowd I came across. It wasn't until one in the morning did I finally text Hikuro and tell him I was going home. He agreed and gave me a text kiss good night.

When I came home that night and opened the door to my house, a rush of a delicious scent in the air hit me and I closed my eyes, breathing in the aroma. I followed to where the smell was the strongest, trusting my nose, and I ended up in the kitchen with a tall man standing at my stove. Or should I say _our_ stove.

Kasaigaru. My guardian and the only person besides Hikuro I can trust. He has solid black hair, the darkest black you can _ever_ find on _anyone_ and the most amazing green eyes. You never saw him not wearing all black, excluding a few shades of blue and red here and there every once in a while. But other than that he was your even sexier batman with skills better, bigger, and much badder.

I smiled as I walked into the kitchen and dropped my bag on the kitchen counter. Kasaigaru turned around with a spoon in his hand and gave me a warm smile that would melt any girl down to her toes. But instead of melting down to my toes, I hunched over and couldn't stop laughing. On my always-serious guardian who almost _never_ shows emotion and could kick anyone's ass and wears all black, was now wearing a white and pink apron around his solid black clothes. It was the funniest thing I've seen in a while.

He smiled at me, "My, my, Ryume, is there something wrong?"

I couldn't stop laughing and tried to speak in between breaths, "No… apron… Oh god… Nothing… Hungry!"

"I'm not sure about the god part, but yes, I will get food out for you." He grinned while saying it and I ended up on the floor with my back against the wall. My friends would _never _believe this! I needed a picture!

Taking out my cell phone, I put the camera on and stood up, snapping a picture of Kasaigaru as quickly as possible. I grinned and looked at the picture I took. My face fell and I pouted when there was no apron on Kasaigaru but just a plate of food in his hand. He raised an eyebrow at me. "Do you really think I'd let you take a picture of me in a white and pink apron and let you show it to your friends?"

I bit my lip and shook my head. My stomach growled and I sat down on a high chair for the large kitchen counter and dug into some alfredo pasta. The taste made my mouth water and I almost drooled. It was _that_ good. Kasaigaru makes the best food and makes sure it's all healthy for you. Even though he makes some great desserts too. But desserts were _my_ specialty. I can make some pretty kick-ass cheesecakes, chocolate cakes, and Hikuro's favorite, cinnamon-flavored cakes or cookies.

I told Kasaigaru about _Bloody Bones_ and his face went dark. I gave him all of the little details and information I caught on or was suspicious of. I told him everything little thing I thought, in case what I thought could've been a clue, no matter how outrageous was. Kasaigaru took these things seriously and when I was done on the story of _Bloody Bones, _he was quiet for a moment. The thing with Kasaigaru was that he didn't speak much and his face didn't usually tell anything to anyone unless you were Hikuro or myself. The three of us were a family and we all understood each other. Can you figure out that Kasaigaru was also a 'supernatural'?

The back door that led to the back yard creaked and I went to the door, unlocking and opening it to let in my pet, Ceasar. He was a beautiful enormous black dog with a few genes of a black fox, making his tail extra bushy, ears more pointed, snout more slim, and fur more soft to the touch. He greeted me with his icy blue eyes and tongue hanging out of his mouth. I petted the top of his head and headed upstairs to get some sleep. Kasaigaru came in my room and said his goodnight, leaving me to pass out on my bed with a stuffed animal-wolf next to me.

--

Getting up for me was _never_ easy. I've gotten used to it, but it was always a pain. I flung my bed sheets to the side and found a note on my nightstand. It was Kasaigaru and it wrote 'Good Morning My Life. Breakfast is downstairs for you. Hikuro is coming over today (as well as for the morning). Ceasar has been taken care of and I took him with me. Have a great day and please, please be careful. Love, Kasaigaru". And by be careful he meant _Bloody Bones_. He hated that thing and for some reason wasn't able to hold it for very long. He said it had burned him and it felt as if being stung from where he had been holding it. I didn't have a problem with it.

I got ready and went downstairs to get some breakfast. The smell of eggs and bacon filled the house and I smiled to myself. I turned off the pretty lights on our Christmas tree and was just passing by the door when I heard the sound of a loud motor coming up my driveway. I wonder who that could be. My smile widened and I opened the door to Hikuro who was attempting to pose for me behind the glass door. I laughed at him and he came inside, wrapping his arms around my waist.

'What would you have done if I never opened the door? The neighbors would thing you're a creeper."

"Cupcake, they should be used to be by now. If they don't like, they can go to hell." He grinned and kissed me lightly on the nose. "Something smells good. Kasaigaru?"

"You bet."

And we chowed down on some awesome grub.

--

It was in homeroom, Chemistry class, when the whole story really began.

The teacher announced we had a new student and everyone either mumbled a boring 'yay' or jumped up in their seat, asking if it was a guy or a chick. I sneaked a glance at Hikuro and he rolled his eyes at me. I smiled and knew he was gonna kick some butt if anyone sat in the empty seat next to me. But no, lucky us, we were getting new seats.

It was almost a miracle. I stayed in the same four-person table I was at before, and Hikuro scooted in next to me. We had two empty seats next to us and me and Hikuro found that hilarious that were we actually alone with each other in a class. Fortunately for the teacher, he said that the new guy (yep, it's a dude) was going to sit with us. He said he seated us by grade averages. I got straight As… Hikuro didn't. It's not that he wasn't smart, just lazy and had "better things to do".

The door to the Chemistry class opened and everyone fell silent. The guidance counselor, who was a rather small fragile woman, entered the room and motioned for someone else to join her. Keeping his head down, the new student kept his head hidden behind his neat pure white hair and stood next to the counselor, obviously embarrassed. Counselors tend to do that a lot to students. While everyone was scanning the new student, the two teachers spoke on how to take care of a guest a part to our 'new school-wide family'. Riiight. I looked at what he wore and instantly knew he was a fan of black and white. His jeans were solid black and his cuffed and collared shirt was white with black buttons, and a symbol of some kind embarked over his chest pocket in black and silver. His shoes completed the outfit of black and VANS written on the side in a stylish way with the color of white. This guy knew what he was doing.

After an unnecessarily long lecture, the teacher guided the new student whose name was Trystan, to me and Hikuro's lab table. He glanced up at me and instantly turned away from me; I noticed his eyes widen a bit. Great, what did I do this time? He sat down at the end of the table, one seat away from me, since Hikuro had the other end. Classmate's eyes wandered and stared over their shoulders towards us. I knew I was going to get more gossip about another guy sitting next to me. This was going to be annoying.

Hikuro instantly became the friendly guy once we got our work assigned. "Hey Trystan, what's up? Name's Hikuro," and he reached over my paper and textbook, blocking my view, and opened his hand for the new student to shake.

Trystan looked up at him and I held a gasp. Now I knew why everyone was looking back here a little more; he was gorgeous. His blue eyes lifted from under his white hair, which had a layer of black hair under it, as if it was dyed, and just stared at the hand. He looked at me, as if asking for help. I smiled at him, "Don't worry, he won't bite. He's just friendly and a little too full of himself."

Hikuro pouted and shrugged, pulling his hand back. Trystan's face suddenly fell and he went to his work when the teacher told us to silence ourselves.

With that being a boring day and a new student being the only excitement, the day moved on and Trystan was also in my last class, Trigonometry. The teacher said he could sit anywhere he wanted and he instantly looked at me. He sat one seat away from me so an empty desk was between us. I had the corner seat and maintained a high A in this class. It was because we usually had an hour left of class after we finished our work. The class was so easy.

More students surrounded Trystan but soon lost interest when he didn't fully answer their questions or didn't pay much mind to them. He was a pretty mellow guy, or as another student in front of me said 'depressing to be around'. Now that was just a little mean.

--

We still had fifteen minutes left in class and I had finished yet another Anita Blake book by Laurell K. Hamilton. So, as I usually did, I doodled or just sat at my desk, watching other people with my back against the wall. I found myself meeting my eyes with Trystan's as he stared at me. He had been throughout class and it was kind of strange. Might as well try something.

I lifted myself off of my chair and walked to Trystan's seat. He froze and immediately looked away from me, staring straight ahead. Sheesh.

"Hey, Trystan, right?"

He glanced up at me and looked back down, "Yes." His voice was so soft and polite, as if he had a slight French accent.

"So you're in two of my classes and I haven't spoken to you. Just thought I could say hi and see if you needed help with anything." I sat at the empty chair in front of him and put my hand under my chin casually.

"No, no thank you…" He trailed off, finally looking at me for more than two seconds.

"Ryume. Name's Ryume."

"Ryume," He said it as if he were feeling the taste of the word and letters in his mouth. "That's a beautiful name." He said it so suddenly I blushed. I was _not_ expecting that.

"Um, thank you," Now it was my turn to look away. Great. I had an amazingly gorgeous guy hitting on me and I barely knew him, _and_ I was blushing!

"Do you mind telling me where the library is?"

I looked back at him and he was staring at me again. "Sure. I go there all the time so I can show you tomorrow morning, if that's fine with you."

And his eyes light up. The blue in his eyes, before were icy and whitish, bluish, were now a full beautiful blue that sparkled in brightness. "Oh, thank you so much. I really love to read and I was desperate to find it in this school. It's awfully big."

I smiled at his handsome sparkling face. I felt as if I just needed to, just to make him stay sparkling and happy. "Yeah, I guess it is. But after a few days you'll definitely get the hang of it. It gets easy."

And just like that, we were friends. I was to reintroduce him to Hikuro and show him around tomorrow morning. We even agreed to get some hot chocolate and treats after school. Even I was disappointed, along with him, when the bell rang and we had to leave for dismissal. The week was looking up.


	4. Confessions and Trying Again

I had way too much homework to go hunting for my little thief. So Kasaigaru generously offered to take my place for the night while I wrote my paper and did a lot of last-minute work. I looked at the latest text I got for the fifteenth time. It was from Hikuro and I had told him to stop texting so we could both do our work. He'd pouted but agreed in the end. Unfortunately, I was still waiting for his text.

The night flew by and it felt as if my hand was going to fall off. I read the clock: two thirty am. Not good. I needed to get sleep more or my brain won't be able to function well. Sighing, I lazily tucked myself in bed and instantly fell asleep. It had felt only five minutes later when my alarm went off. Ugh. Screw it. I chucked my phone slash digital alarm clock across the room and watched it hit the wall, taking off some of the blue paint on my walls. Today was just going to be great.

--

"You look like shit," Hikuro said flat-out to my face, leaning over me with his hand on the table in the library. We'd given Trystan a little tour of the school and made the library our destination. I was still tired as hell and once I saw a chair, I immediately sat in it and slumped down.

"Yeah, I agree, Ryume, you don't look all too well." Trystan looked at me with his beautiful eyes from beside me in his own chair. Great, I had two pairs of beautiful eyes staring at me, waiting for an answer.

"She was up all night doing last minute work." Hikuro said.

I kicked him. He wasn't supposed to say anything. If we said it out loud, the person would ask why? What excuse would I have? Oh, the usual, just hunting down bad guys instead of studying. Yeah, right.

Hikuro gasped and stuck his tongue out, "Owww, thanks Ryume, that hurt."

"My bad," I said in a not-caring attitude.

Trystan smiled and covered his mouth with his hand as if to hide it.

Hikuro chuckled, "Dude, you know you're allowed to laugh, right?" He grinned my favorite grin and I couldn't help but smile myself. I loved Hikuro's grins where his cute fangs showed. We all ended up laughing somehow and for some reason the rest of the school day turned out okay, excluding the work.

We were all in Starbucks by around four and it was still freezing as hell outside. Hikuro and I got a hot chocolate and I snuck in a cinnamon cookie for him and watched his face glow with happiness as he brought me to him in a big tight bear hug. The three of us talked while Trystan sipped his black coffee. I never was a fan of coffee…

It was that Friday when the three of us went back to Starbucks and did our whole hangout thing. We were all almost good friends. And I was smiling and happy with someone other than Hikuro.

"So you said you don't have much of a family either, huh?" Hikuro asked, his hot chocolate drained and gone minutes ago.

"No. I live by myself and have been traveling since I was young. Luckily I have money from my past parents."

_Hm. Like me and Hikuro._ I thought to myself. Wouldn't it be just damn right ironic if he was like us and had powers? I laughed in my head.

"But what about you two? What do you do for a living?" Trysan asked so suddenly I almost chocked on the last bit of chocolate surprise at the bottom of the cup. Good thing I've hung out with cops long enough to keep a straight face and maintain my emotions. If not, I wouldn't be here where I was today.

"Eh, nothing much, " Hikuro said, hands behind his head and his chair on only the two back legs. 'I pretty much live with Ryume, besides my run-down apartment. It's a shit-hole and the neighbors and damn gangs are always starting something. Ryume's court is nice and quiet."

_Yeah, that's why I live there._

Trystan looked at me with a soft wonder in his eyes. I just realized Hikuro had dumped the whole question on me and made it just a little harder for me to answer. But the strange thing was, I trusted Trystan. I've never let an outsider other than Hikuro into even just a little bit of my life. I've spent the whole week with him and had laughed and made jokes with him. So why did I still want to tell him about my life even though I'm just a little hesitant? Now my shoulder angels won't shut up.

I sighed and told him. "Hikuro and I work with the cops on cases that involve supernatural species and we both kind of work as detectives. If they need us finding someone dangerous, they call us in, we track the suspect down and lock 'em up. It gets annoying after a while but we're the only ones who know what we're doing without putting anyone else in danger. It takes up a lot of our time and it's pretty tiring." Hikuro had his mouth dropped to the floor and was gaping at me, eyes wide. We weren't supposed to tell anyone, according to the cops. They weren't my parents or guardians. Hell with them.

I looked at Trystan and he just looked back with his blue eyes. "I'm guessing that took a lot to say that and you weren't supposed to."

"You catch up pretty quick." I gave him a smile.

"Yes, well…" He paused and looked somewhere else in the building, gazing at other people drinking coffee and socializing. Now it was his turn to look hesitant. "Well…" he laughed weakly. "Since you have said that I guess I'll have to say what I should." He glanced at me and Hikuro then back down at the table. His fingers fidgeted a bit. "I am a supernatural, myself."

My eyes widened. Aw shiiit.

"Hah, funny, so are we." Hikuro said and gave me a death glare saying, 'hah, I can break the rules too!'.

Trystan looked up so suddenly and gasped. "You're all supernatural as well?" the white of his eyes showed and he was staring at Hikuro, and me since we were sitting next to each other.

"Uhm, yeah, we are. That's why we're called in for cases like that."

"Yeah so if you stole something we'd have to go after you instead of the cops since you're a supernatural." Hikuro laughed and I just smiled because I knew it was true. But a look at Trystan and I knew there was something else behind his supernatural story. He noticed me looking at him and he tried to laugh. Now he was covering something up.

It took a few more minutes of just regular talk when a small silence fell. I sipped the last of my room temperature water and put the empty bottle down. I don't drink tap or opened/exposed water. Then Trystan asked if we were doing a case now. What could I say? Uh, nope. Just chilling. Nahh, why lie?

"Yep. But it's causing us a bit of trouble since we can't find any suspects."

"Ahh, that's a shame." Trystan said almost soundlessly. His voice had a boring tone to it as if his melodic voice had gone down to a flat. Was it something I said?

--

Hikuro and I finally got home at around eleven from scanning the area for any suspicious activity. We didn't find anything. I was flopped on Hikuro's chest with him on the couch and we were both tired. We were getting tired of all of this running around and not finding anything. Being used to finding a suspect and capturing him/her in three of four nights tops, we weren't expecting it to take this long. Kasaigaru entered the room and told me the manager of the museum called asking of our status. I made a grumbling sound and my dog; Ceasar came up to me and licked my arm. I stuck my tongue out and grumbled again.

I heard and felt Hikuro chuckle under me. "What'd you say to mister annoying?"

"I simply told him you were doing your job. It's the honest truth."

"Honest enough. No explanations needed." I agreed.

Hikuro smiled and hugged me from under me. He kissed my head and sighed. Ceasar jumped on the couch and licked Hikuro's cheek. "Aw, not cool pooch. That's Ryume's job." I laughed once and lifted myself up. Hikuro groaned behind me, "See? Now look what you did." He was holding Ceasar by his muzzle but he was wagging his tail. Cute.

"Go back out and look for your suspect. Bring Ceasar if you'd like." Kasaigaru said. I just looked at him with my tongue out, showing him I was too tired to do anything except walk to my bed. He gave me a look from behind his black hair that made me magically gain some energy and drag Hikuro up from the couch and go back to search for our unknown suspect. "I suggest the museum, you two." He said from the door as we were going to our vehicles. I raised an eyebrow at him and smiled. He obviously knew something that we didn't. But that was just how Kasaigaru was. Mysterious, yet helpful.

I sighed and waved to Hikuro as he started his spiffy black bike. He waved back and made a gesture of blowing me a kiss from his helmet. I got in the Mustang before someone saw me blush, no matter how dark it was I was still insecure. We made our way to the highway and I put in my iPod and All The Right Moves by One Republic played. My taste in music was pretty crazy. It'd go from that to Slipknot, Paramore, Rise Against, Led Zeppelin, Infected Mushroom, Thousand Foot Krutch, Broken Cyde, and something like Scorpions or Journey.

I interrupted a song by turning it down as I pulled to a stop in front of the museum. Hikuro was leaning against his bike, arms crosses, helmet off, and his hair blowing in the soft freezing breeze. He raised his face and opened his eyes, smiling at me. Oh great. I looked away from him. If we got this case done tonight, we'd celebrate. Not too fun with Hikuro. I looked back over at him and looked down from his legs to up to his face and changed my mind. Nah, it'd be lots of fun.


	5. The Fight for Answers

The manager had given us keys to the museum for whatever reason, as if he just knew we'd need to look for something in here or something. I mentally shrugged. Who knew? That guy was a weirdo in my eyes. But then again Kasaigaru told us to come here so there was definitely something here. He was the kind of guy who would say anything crazy but was actually accurate. By that I mean, if he gave you advice or told you to do something, you better listen and do as you're told.

Hikuro opened the door once he unlocked it and we both stepped inside, looking around the dark museum. We couldn't see much but, of course, our eyes are better than average. Which meant we knew better than to turn on the lights and alert anyone or anything that was in here. My, my, isn't logic and common sense wonderful.

Hikuro called the second floor and I said I'd get the bottom floor. The building was set out so you could see almost everything. There was a security desk in the middle of the huge entrance and behind it was a 'T' shaped hallway. You'd either go left or right for more old shit to look at. Oh, my apologizes, _artifacts_. The upper level was much smaller and had more back rooms instead of open space. It had a long hallway with small random items on display and glass coverings so people wouldn't fall but the kiddies could also admire the long fall behind a small safety wall. Again farther to the left and right were more rooms and, or, open space. I sighed and scanned the lower level. The last place I ended up was the right side of the T-shaped hallway and Hikuro right above me. He was at the location of where the necklace should be and I watched as he put a finger to his chin and examined the empty glass-covered box. He put his knuckle against the glass and knocked on the glass. I smiled and covered my face.

I started to walk away and ended up in the middle of the T-hallway with my back against the wall and my body facing the huge opening along with the front doors we came through. I watched the streetlight flicker and gave up watching the road. My attention went towards a moving shadow across the floor. I was instantly alert as the shadow moved across the floor, along the shadow of the upstairs hallway. The stranger was on the upper floor and was running towards the direction of Hikuro. I yelled out his name and I instantly heard a grump and a crash. Dashing towards Hikuro, still on the bottom level, I watched as glass poured from the upper level and onto a random old plane set on display. Hikuro fell along with the glass and he landed on his hands neatly, pushing himself back up, flipping in the air, and landing on the second floor once more. I heard a thud as a body hit a wall and I gritted my teeth.

The sound of more glass breaking came from the front entrance and I dashed with my abnormal speed towards the sound. A figure dressed in black dropped to the floor from the crash of the front entrance windows. It fell with a thud and Hikuro was instantly on them. He came from the upper level and leaped across the large open space, his long black jacket flying behind him. Landing in front of the figure, he tripped as the stranger flung his leg out and hit Hikuro's leg. The two fought with the physical fighting skills while I tried to figure out who our guest was. I couldn't tell. No matter how good my night vision was, the distance was too far away and the stranger had a hood over his head.

I growled to myself and ran towards the two. The stranger kicked Hikuro in the gut with a powerful blow and sent him crashing into the wall, flying into a few other displays, sending glass everywhere. We usually made a mess when fighting. The opponent had his back to me and I tapped his shoulder. He (because his shape of body didn't look like a female) turned around and I sent him a friendly punch to the face. He flew back towards Hikuro and he got up, kicking the opponent in midair, sending him to another wall. He slumped for a minute then got back up. Hikuro and I faced him and we both noticed the lumps on his back. This guy was definitely our thief.

"You're under arrest for breaking and entering and for theft." I said and flashed a badge. Hikuro flashed his too. The figure lifted his head and I got a glimpse of icy blue eyes before he suddenly lashed out at us and was over us before our backs hit the floor. We got up quickly and chased after him but hesitated as we saw him actually flying in the air. He had wings; midnight black, feathered wings. Crashing through another window, he flapped his wings and was outside, escaping. "Oh no you don't." I whispered.

"Not on my watch you don't!" Hikuro yelled and chased after him. Grabbing his bike and instantly firing it up, he sped up to our suspect. Myself, meanwhile, put down the convertible and was as well chasing down our like bird-boy. And just our luck, he starts flying over the highway. I clenched my teeth. Great. He was flying low, like I could reach out and touch him if I got close enough. Too cold for high flight.

Hikuro's bike roared past me and I yelled for him to stop but was it was no use; he wouldn't hear nor would willingly listen to what I have to say. Watching him in horror and from his stupidity, I watched him jump up from his still moving bike, and grab the figure's leg. The bike lost control and crashed to a stop in a ditch, obviously ruined. Now we had to get him another bike, yet again. No matter how much he loved his bikes, he just had a knack of crashing and wasting them, on 'accident', he says. Ha.

While Hikuro was holding on for dear life, he was getting kicked in the face and having to hold on even tighter as the bird-man swerved left and right to get rid of the heavy load. Then claws appeared as hands. It took only a second and I was glad I didn't blink. The long sharp claws went down to Hikuro's arm and he tore at his flesh through the thick cloth of his coat. I heard Hikuro yell and he was suddenly falling. I sped up in my car and winced as Hikuro fell and landed in the backseat.

"You alright?" I yelled towards him. I looked back at him and saw him breathing hard and holding his bloody arm. His face was covered in cuts from crashing into glass and more blood was trickling down his face from more head wounds. His jacket was tattered and ruined from more glass doings. He looked up at me and tried to grin. I gritted my teeth and looked for our suspect. He was nowhere to be seen. Where the hell was he?

All of a sudden, I felt my arms being grabbed by gloves and I was suddenly airborne in the sky. I caught a glimpse of Hikuro grabbing for the steering wheel as I was lifted higher. Looking up, I met those icy blue eyes again. Ohhh boy, I was being lifted and carried by the bird-man. "Put me down, dammit!" I yelled and started kicking everywhere. I swung my legs backwards and front, over and over until I got enough momentum to kick my holder in the shoulder and chest. A little off from where I was aiming, but enough to make him release me.

Oops. Didn't think about where he'd drop me. Time seemed to slow down a bit as I watched the black sky and felt the sharp icy wind hit me from everywhere. I was falling and my hair was all over my face. I blinked as I was falling and the man was suddenly there. Crap, faster than I thought. He tackled me in the air and I felt the road hit my back and my breath escape me as I crashed onto the cold hard ground with a bird-man on top of me. I couldn't breath for a moment and the weight on top of me wasn't helping much. I heard cars pass by, saw the lights and heard the honks of cars as they swerved around us. A car screeched to a halt and in front of us and stopped inches away from the stranger's face. Hikuro jumped from the driver's seat and landed behind him, about to send a punch to the face but unsuccessfully as the man grabbed his fist and twisted it sharply, making Hikuro flinch and fall to his knees.

"Stop it! Let him go!" I yelled and punched the man in the stomach. He flinched slightly but let go of Hikuro's hand, turning towards me. His eyes were a sharp firey blue as he stared at me and I suddenly felt very cold. A car horn blared at us and it drove inches away from my head. I held my breath and closed my eyes. I heard Hikuro's voice and opened them back up. He was still on his knees and was glaring at the man who was still sitting on me.

"Listen here, you son of a bitch, I'm the only one who can sit on Ryume. You hear?"

I gaped at him and slammed my head on the pavement. Dear lord help that kid. Then Hikuro tackled the figure and they went sprawling further onto the road. I tried to get up but found that my shoulder blades didn't want to fully function. I groaned and rolled over on my side, the Mustang lights shining at my face. I dealt with the sharp pain in my spine and shoulder blades and stood up, looking for Hikuro. He was on top of the figure, punching him repeatedly. The man caught both of his fists and swung him over so he was on top. He held Hikuro still for a moment while he still writhed to get free, and slowly bent down towards his ear.

Hikuro's body spazzed and I heard him give out a loud angry roar. I guess he said something he didn't like very much. Great. Hikuro continued to squirm from under the figure but ever so slowly, his head turned towards me, ignoring Hikuro's threats. I held my breath and watched his eyes flash towards me. A smile that showed teeth and two fangs appeared and I heard Hikuro yell, "Don't you fucking touch her! Don't touch her! Leave her out of this! Stop, dammit, stop!"

Then I felt a bit scared. Hikuro never released that much energy and rage only if the threat must've really gotten to him. The figure looked back down at Hikuro and he shut up, just breathing heavily and one eyelid closed from the blood going into his eyes. And in one fluid movement, he lifted Hikuro into the air and flung him into the ditch by the side of the highway. I cried out his name and my legs instantly went towards him, and then gave out. I fell to my knees and I cradled my stomach. I'd broken a few ribs, maybe two. Luck is not on my side tonight.

The figure walked towards me and grabbed me by the hair, pulling me to my feet painfully. My stomach didn't want to stretch out any further but did anyway and sharp pains filled throughout the top half of my body. The man brought my face close to his and I felt his face against my cheek. He was smelling me, taking in my scent and observing me fully. I gritted my teeth from both the pain and to what he was going to do to me next. I cried out for Hikuro again but ended up getting backhanded in the face. I tasted blood in my mouth and spit in the man's face. He growled and kneed me in the stomach. Ouch. Now that hurt a lot. With blood spilling from out of my mouth, I went limp and groaned again from the headaches I was getting from my hair.

And of all things that was going to happen next, I was not expecting this. The man flung me against the hood of the Mustang and leaned over me so his body mended almost perfectly over mine. He had hold of my wrists over my head and his heavy bodied weight crushed me. And, of course, the most random thing he does is kiss me. My eyes went wide and I spit blood into his mouth again. He jerked back and those icy eyes looked at me. I gasped and saw a familiar face stare back at me. Once he noticed, he gasped, put his hand to his mouth, and took a step back. His eyes were wide and were full of terror as if he'd just woken up from a nightmare. Right, more like _my_ nightmare.

We both turned as we heard Hikuro yell and run towards us with his fist in the air. He stood between us, blocking my view, and I'm guessing, punched him in the face. He fell to the ground in front of the Mustang where the lights beamed at him. His large wings went limp around him and he held his cheek. Hikuro let me lean against me and we both went quiet as we looked into the face of our friend Trystan.


	6. Understanding and Help

Kasaigaru came to pick us up. Hikuro and I sat in the back of the Mustang and Trystan sat up front. Normally we'd tie our bad guys up or handcuff them but Trystan was a different story. He listened and obeyed. We sent him back to our house and down into the basement for questioning. It made things easier for us when he offered to give us the whole story.

Apparently, he really was just a traveling kid from a young age; no parents, no home, but lots of money from his rich family. He lived and survived by himself. But it all changed to something so simple from coming across a trash can near a lab and getting infected with a chemical. There had been many chemicals in the disposal and they'd all mixed together to make something very deadly to humans, and very harmful to the supernatural. Trystan had become infected with it not too long ago and had had random outbreaks of sudden personality change and a feel for violence and theft. Trystan also stated that ever since he'd been infected, he'd been strangely curious about the _Bloody Bones_ gem. He had never even heard of it until he started reading about it. It was as if all the information came to him after reading just a few pages and summaries and articles.

After a while, Trystan's 'other side' had been hunting down the gem and searching for it desperately for power. Once he found it, Trystan had already known what it could do and tried to resist the demon that was inside of him. He didn't want to tell any doctors about this demon for supernatural weren't common and were supposed to be myth according to the human population.

Trystan finished his story and looked down at the floor. Kasaigaru was in the room, obviously listening, but also tending to Hikuro's wounds. I was tied to a straight-back chair for my spine and shoulder blades. I closed my eyes and breathed slowly, in and out, in and out.

Hikuro looked over at Trystan. "So it really wasn't you who attacked us. It was that demon thing." Trystan nodded and apologized again.

Hikuro just nodded and winced as he moved his skin and the drying blood that hadn't been cleaned yet. Trystan's eyes trembled and he buried his face in his hands, fingers clenching his hair into fistfuls.

"It wasn't you, Trystan. We'll just get a cure for you and it'll all be okay." Kasaigaru said from beside me. He untied me and I slumped, arching my back. I walked to Hikuro and finished cleaning him up. Trystan's eyes were bright and it looked like he was going to tear up.

"You can really find a cure for this?"

Kasaigaru shook his head. "Not find. Make. I can _make_ a cure."

Trystan nodded silently and sneaked a glance at Hikuro and me. Hikuro wasn't paying any attention to me and was staring at Trystan with a not-so-friendly look. I snapped my fingers in front of his face and he blinked then looked into my eyes. He sighed and leaned his forehead against mine. He whispered to me quietly, "He threatened he'd do things to you. Horrible things. Thank god it wasn't the real Trystan. If it was, I'd have to kill him."

My body went a little tense. What did Trystan's demon say? I don't think I wanted to know. But guessing from his move on me on my own car, I had a pretty good guess. I sneaked a glance back towards Trystan and he looked away. He knew what he had said. He had to watch the scene from behind his own eyes, no control over his body what so ever. I would never be able to take that. I'd have to kill myself before that happened. I hated it when someone had control over me beside myself. I sighed and leaned against Hikuro who was now clean free of blood and all patched up. Even with his cuts and bruises, he still put his arm around me and kissed the top of my head.

"All right you three, time for all of you to get some sleep." Kasaigaru announced. He went to Trystan and looked down at him, hands on hips. "You can get the guest room."

Trystan's eyes widened, "You're letting me sleep here? What if I attack again? No, I can not allow myself to accept this offer."

"You won't be attacking anyone tonight, kid." Kasaigaru said with his boring yet amazing green eyes. "Everyone's safe for the night. For now, all of you need rest. I'll be awake and making a medicine for you and watching out for the monsters under the bed." He looked at Hikuro when he said the last part and gave a small smirk.

"What? What'd I do this time, huh?" Hikuro said and grinned obviously knowing what he was talking about. Yeah, so did I.

"No funny business tonight, Hikuro." Kasaigaru said simply, and went into another room to prepare for making the medication.

Hikuro looked at me and smiled, nuzzling my neck with his nose, "Need a ride Sleeping Beauty?"

I gave him a look and smiled, "No thanks, Ken."

He laughed and the three of us trailed up two floors of stairs. I was exhausted by the time I got to my room and immediately flopped on my bed. Hikuro appeared in the doorway and was grinning at me. I raised an eyebrow and rolled my eyes, moving to lie on my side with my back towards him. I heard the door close and my bed move as he positioned himself behind me and put his arm over my stomach. He snuggled his face in my hair and trailed kisses up my neck. It tickled and I sighed, pushing his face away with my hand. He laughed and kissed my wrist.

I blushed but was too tired to argue. Sleep overcame me and the last thing I heard was Hikuro's chuckles and him saying good night and I love you.

--

As usual, I was the first awake and had made breakfast for everyone. Kasaigaru pulled an all-nighter for finishing and perfecting the medication and passed out on the couch in the living room. He left the glass of liquid on the counter and I put it in front of Trystan's plate of food. It wasn't until I heard the stairs creak from the weight did I uncover the fresh food and set the plates on the counter so the boys could eat.

I heard Hikuro singing a song and air-guitarring down the stairs with Trystan laughing behind him. Hikuro came into the kitchen and smelled the food. A grin appeared on his face and he looked at me. Oh boy. He ran up to me, picked me up, and spun me around in a big bear hug. Then he planted a lovely kiss on my lips. He held me in his arms as he kissed me and I smiled against his lips. He ended up doing the same and laughed. He rubbed our noses together and I blushed. Man, he can just be so embarrassing.

Trystan was watching us with a peaceful smile on his face. He took a seat next to the counter and I motioned for him to eat. He nodded and thanked me a million times for the food. We all dug into our food and I told Trystan about the cure. He listened intentionally and stared at the cup in front of him. All he had to do was drink it. No catch, no side effects. That's why it took so long to make. It's amazing at how people don't appreciate the hard work people go through to perfect medication. I would know since I used to work with chemicals and medicine myself.

Trystan ended up drinking the medicine and he felt as if a heavy weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. His eyes got brighter and his posture was more proud, confidant, and more of himself instead of someone he wasn't. We reported to the police our story and they agreed for Trsytan being innocent. But we all also agreed to investigate the lab that had wastes dumped carelessly. Being very dangerous, we didn't want any more unnecessary threats occurring because of laziness.

And what I loved the most that day was that Hikuro and I were going to get more help for the job of supernatural species. Trystan offered to take the job to help us out with investigations and other things we do of that sort. Man, were Hikuro and I relieved. He would start training right away and we gave him books to study on so he can fully be prepared for the job. Sure it took all day to sign paperwork for the solve theft and for the damages done to the museum, but hey, it all paid off. The manager got his precious museum fixed, _Bloody Bones_ was ordered to be protected and guarded under Kasaigaru's name, Trystan was gonna help us out, and Detective Brown finally tried a crunch wrap supreme. I felt accomplished.

But Hikuro didn't. He asked what our reward was. The cops paid us and we made our way home with Hikuro saying he still wasn't quite satisfied. Kasaigaru and I rolled our eyes because we obviously didn't care. Fortunately for Hikuro, he was satisfied by the next morning…


End file.
